1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connecting device with insulation piercing technology, with a housing, with terminals for insulated conductors, with at least one conductor bar, with at least two actuating elements and with at least two insulation piercing elements, the actuating elements being arranged to be able to turn relative to the insulation piercing elements in the electrical connecting device and each having a conductor receiver for the conductors to be connected, and the insulation piercing elements establishing electrical contact of a conductor inserted into the conductor receiver to the conductor bar, when an actuating element is pivoted out of a first position in which the conductor can be inserted into the conductor receiver (insertion position) into a second position (contact position).
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connecting devices, especially modular connecting devices, have been known for decades and are being used in the millions in the wiring of electrical systems and devices. The connecting devices are generally locked onto mounting rails which, for their part, with multiple connecting devices often being located in a control cabinet. The connecting devices are generally made as connecting terminals so that they have at least two conductor terminal elements which are electrically connected to one another via an electrically conductive connecting bar. In addition to this basic type of modular connecting device, there is also a host of different types of modular connecting devices which are especially adapted to the respective applications. Examples are two-tier or three-tier connecting devices and two-wire or four-wire connecting devices each of which have a correspondingly large number of conductor terminal elements.
Conductor terminal elements in modular connecting devices are largely screw terminals or tension spring terminals. The clamping principle in tension spring terminals is similar to that of screw technology. While in the screw terminal a tension sleeve pulls the conductor against the conductor bar by actuating a clamping screw, in a tension spring terminal this task is performed by the tension spring. To do this, the pretensioned tension spring is opened with an actuating tool, for example, a screw driver, so that the conductor can be inserted through a window in the spring leg of the tension spring into the terminal space. After removing the actuating tool, the conductor is pulled by the spring force of the tension spring against the conductor bar.
Both in the screw terminal and also in the tension spring terminal, the electrical conductor must first be stripped after it is cut to length before contact can be made with the electrical terminal. Since a special tool is necessary for stripping the electrical conductors, and since stripping is relatively time-consuming, for many years, electrical connecting devices have also been used to which electrical conductors can be connected without prior stripping. To do this, the insulated conductor is inserted into a conductor receiver in the housing of the connecting device, and then, is pressed into an insulation piercing element, by which the insulation of the conductor is cut through and contact is made with the core of the conductor by the insulation piercing elements. In this case, there is a host of possible versions of these connecting devices for connecting unstripped conductors. They differ especially in how the conductor inserted into the conductor receiver is pressed into the insulation piercing element and by the specific configuration of the insulation piercing element which, in addition to making contact with the core of the conductor, also clamps the insulation, and thus, the conductor altogether.
The initially described electrical connecting device in insulation piercing technology is known, for example, from German Patent Application DE 199 21 775 A1. For this known connecting terminal unit, the actuating elements are supported by means of relatively large, wheel-like guides in a pivoting support formed by the housing side wall. Because the actuating elements are pivotally supported directly in the side wall of the housing, a maximum diameter is available for the conductor to be connected. Thus, for a given conductor cross section, the width of the electrical connecting device can be chosen to be relatively small. However, the wheel-like guide of the actuating elements in the side wall has the disadvantage that problems can arise in adherence to the required creepage distances, and thus, insulation problems can occur.
German Utility Model DE 203 12 123 U1 and German Patent Application DE 103 47 668 A1 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,571) disclose electrical connecting devices in insulation piercing technology which, in addition to a conductor bar with insulation piercing elements on its ends, has at least two actuating elements pivotally arranged in the housing. The actuating elements are supported in the housing by means of journals which are made on their side surface and which are guided in the corresponding openings in the side wall of the housing. These electrical connecting devices, especially modular connecting devices, have proven themselves in practice due to their simple structure and their easy and safe handling. Therefore, it is desirable to further increase the possible applications of these electrical connecting devices, and the dimensions of the connecting devices are to be kept as small as possible.